An Unexpected Call
by flummoxedangel
Summary: The Doctor calls you up for a date! He doesn't say it's a date, but it definitely is ;)


You had been sitting on your bed with your laptop and a tub of your favorite ice cream for about an hour. The clock read 1AM, and you had no intention of sleeping anytime soon, not while you were binge watching this show. No way.

You were calling this a self care night. Only because it sounded better than procrastination.

You hadn't seen the Doctor in a couple of weeks, but that was normal. He always seemed to be late, rushing in, apologizing. Coming up with a million different reasons as to what had been holding him up. But he always seemed ecstatic to have you around. Though, maybe he was just ecstatic in general.

You wished you could see him soon. His bright eyes, his clumsy posture, that floppy hair of his. You missed it all. So here you were, engulfing yourself in fiction because the real world was always especially dull without the Doctor around. Fiction was your _savior_. Perhaps that was why you loved travelling with the Doctor. That beautiful madman and his magic box.

You realised you'd gotten lost in your thoughts and cursed silently to yourself, having to rewind the whole minute of the episode you'd just missed. You sighed noticing that the little ice cream you had left was melted and lukewarm. This was really your life away from the Doctor. He would not approve.

You were jolted at the sudden ringing of your cellphone at the end of the bed.

"Ugh what- nooo who dares to interrupt self care night?!"

You went to decline the call until you saw who it was.

"Doctor!" You said far too loudly. You could practically hear him wince through the phone.

"Hello Y/N, er, I don't know how long it's been for you, but ah."

He paused,

"Are you busy?"

At this point, self care night was completely out the window. Not that you were complaining. You smiled wide and replied.

"Absolutely! I mean- not, I'm not busy, hah. Hang on, why are you calling? You never call, I mean, you usually just you know, show up."

He delayed, and you thought you could hear a quiet breath come from his side of the phone.

"Well, I'm taking you somewhere… very special. So, you'll need to be dressed before I arrive. Pop on something nice!" He insisted, an excited lilt in his voice, which you were happy to hear.

Though, you did wonder what was so special you needed to be nicely dressed for.

"Um, okay-"

"Perfect! I'm on my way."

And with that, he was gone.

You practically threw yourself out of bed, tossing clothes about until you found something you thought was adequate. You slipped it on as fast as you could, messed with your hair a bit in the mirror and dashed off to put on some nice shoes. The Doctor _did _say that he was taking you somewhere special. Whatever that meant.

Just as you'd finished putting your shoes on you heard the familiar wheezing sound of the TARDIS appearing in your front yard. You loved the sound, even if it was only because the Doctor leaves the brakes on. Though you were ready, you waited _just_ a moment to be sure you didn't seem overly eager.

You approached the blue box and let yourself in.

'That was the best timing you've ever made, Doctor!" You laughed.

"Doctor?" You called out.

He was nowhere to be seen.

You circled around the console, popped your head between the railings, and looked up at the balcony. Nothing. Your heart rate began to pick up, just a little.

"Hello? Doctor?"

You heard a crash come from one of the hallways, directly followed by your Doctor dressed in a lovely tux and top hat. He looked as if he'd just lost control of his legs for a moment, but distracted from that by sliding into the room dramatically and waltzing up the stairs to meet you at the console.

You held back a laugh and realized you may have been a bit underdressed, but he didn't seem to care. He swiftly took your hand in his and smiled.

"Good evening, my dear."

He brought your hand up to place a kiss on the back of it but before he could, he blurted out.

"Evening? Is it evening?"

He misread the puzzled look on your face.

"Morning? Night? Afternoon… It's got to be one of those. Is it? Er, happy Christmas? Oh, come on give me something here, I'm trying to be cool!" He whined.

You were smiling uncontrollably up at him and began to laugh.

"Oi, stop that, this is serious!"

You covered your mouth with your free hand - as he still had your other - and spoke through giggles,

"Sorry, sorry. It's just- what's gotten into you, Doctor? What's this all about?"

"It's a surprise! Now where was I? Ah, yes, good… something."

Finally, he kissed the back of your hand and let it go, turning to the TARDIS console. You blushed a bit and watched in anticipation as he dashed around the room pulling levers and flipping switches. You wondered how his top hat hadn't flown off in the midst of all that.

"Ready, darling?" He asked with a sweet smile and extended his hand toward you.

You paused for a moment, letting the word 'darling' echo in your head and smiled. You took his hand and with that, he pulled one last lever sending the TARDIS off. The room shook and spun and the two of you held on to each other for dear life. Time seemed to slow down, and it was just you two and the TARDIS like it was meant to be.

Once you'd landed, there was a pause, just for a moment. You looked up at him, a wild, excited look in your eyes, which he adored. He raised his eyebrows and smiled wide before practically sprinting to the doors in a tangle of limbs.

"You seem so happy," You said, bounding after him.

He took you by the shoulders and gently guided you so that you were in front of the doors and he, behind you. He leaned in and spoke in your ear, his voice soft and low.

"Beyond those doors, is something I've been planning for a long time… and it's all yours, Y/N." You could feel him grin against your ear and his breath sent a small jolt throughout your body.

You closed your eyes and pushed the left door open as he opened the right. You smiled in anticipation before finally opening your eyes, seeing what was before you.

The Doctor smiled down at you, awaiting your reaction.

Before your eyes was a gorgeous deep purple sky speckled with stars. Two moons hung beautifully in that sky, bigger than any you'd ever seen, and they lit up your face with a yellow glow. It was definitely a different planet. The Doctor must have done a really good job of parking, because the TARDIS was sitting right in the center of what resembled a cobblestone path, lined with alien trees which had what you assumed were lanterns hanging from the strange branches. At the end of the path in the far distance was a giant castle-like structure. Its tall windows reflected the moonlight and tears pricked your eyes.

"Doctor, it's…" You tried to find the right words, but none came.

You turned to him, mouth agape, still trying to formulate a sentence to no avail. He noticed and brought a finger up to your lips.

"I know." He said softly, that childish grin spreading across his face.

He removed his finger from your slightly parted lips and gave you a playful boop on the nose. You felt your cheeks get hot and turned your face down, looking in every possible direction except at him.

"Shall we?" He asked, smiling down at you.

You nodded and he brought up his arm for you to take, leading you out onto the path. You took in your surroundings as the two of you walked together, arm in arm. You had quite a long way to go before reaching the castle, so he told you legends and myths about the place, rambling on as he always did. He'd said something about it being one of the most beautiful and romantic planets, among other things. You loved listening to him talk. He always had so much knowledge to share in that head of his. So many stories and magnificent things. You let the words flow through you and absorbed the environment. It was wonderful.

After a while, he started to get quieter, his sentences breaking, things becoming less clear. Almost like he was distracted by something, but you couldn't quite tell.

"You alright, Doctor?" You asked, expressing concern in your eyes.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. fine. Perfect, marvelous, in fact! Never better!"

He was using way too many adjectives.

Something was wrong for sure. He'd removed you from his arm carefully and was standing further away now, completely silent as you both walked. Only then did you realise how crisp the air was and began to miss the warmth between you. So, you made a move.

You took his arm and ducked under it quickly so that it was now resting on your shoulders and wrapped your arm around his waist, smiling up at him. The look of surprise on his face softened into a small smile. You couldn't believe you'd just done that, but he looked more relaxed now.

_'That was good. Perfect, wonderful!' _You thought to yourself.

Now you were using way too many adjectives.

You hoped he didn't mind your arm around his waist. Rather than overthinking any more you decided to break the silence as you walked in each other's arms.

"So what's that castle over there?"

The Doctor let out a small chuckle and you frowned.

"...Is it a castle?"

No answer, just a mischievous smile.

"Hey," You elbowed him playfully. "At least say _something_,"

"Something." He answered, smiling proudly.

You scoffed and let go of him, crossing your arms and looking away from him. You were trying so hard to hold back a laugh. He continued to smile, and walked with his hands behind his back.

You couldn't take it anymore. You spat out a laugh, and pulled on his tux jacket to steady yourself.

"God, I love you, you know that?" You blurted out between laughs.

You instantly regretted that and froze in place, eyes wide.

_Shit._

You definitely did not mean for that to slip out...

The Doctor stared down at you, completely shocked. His hand flailed about for just a moment, then bringing it up to stroke his hair back. And of course, he'd forgotten his top hat was on. So, instead, he knocked his hat off and scrambled to pick it back up.

"Um… anyway, so the surprise?"

"Ah, yes quite… er, this way." He took your hand and off you went, walking again.

He seemed to ignore what had just happened and went on rambling again as he always did. You appreciated it though, as it snuffed out the tension.

Finally, you reached the castle. It towered high into the sky, so high. It was like the top of it was invisible, like it faded out into the stars. You gazed at the structure before you in awe.

"How tall is it? I can't even see the top,"

"Ooh, really very tall. Extraordinarily tall, the tallest tall to ever tall!" He rambled on a bit, using the word _tall_ in a hundred different contexts.

You laughed quietly to yourself.

"Oh Doctor. What am I gonna do with you?" You said, looking up at him with an amused smile.

He turned his head and winked at you, causing your heart to flutter in your chest.

You were quickly distracted when a loud thud came from in front of you. The castle's towering golden doors began to open, slow and heavy. Assigned to each door were beautiful tall humanoid creatures with pale blue skin and platinum white robe-like garments. Each held a staff and once the doors were completely open, they looked to you and the Doctor.

"Welcome," They said in perfect unison. Their voices seemed to echo through your head, and it was strangely comforting.

The Doctor made a strange saluting motion at the two beings and then led you in through the doors, your hand still in his. Usually you'd held hands running away from monsters or when you were scared, but he was just happily insisting on keeping it there. It was nice, but… you couldn't help but wonder what all this was about. And he wasn't telling you anything.

He tugged at you gently and pointed out into the room the two of you were entering.

It was a huge room with a ceiling that looked like it could be its' own sky. It was bustling with people and life forms. Robots and aliens and everything in between. Everyone was dressed beautifully, the place was bustling with noise, and the atmosphere physically felt happy and romantic even. Or maybe that bit was just from being with the Doctor.

"There are people here from different planets, galaxies, dimensions even. Once every ten years, millions congregate here sharing stories, experiences, different foods and clothing."

The Doctor leaned towards you and brought his hand up to his mouth as if he were sharing a secret.

"Not to mention recreational activities." Emphasis on 'recreational'

You concealed a laugh and took in some more of your surroundings, the two of you slowly beginning to walk further in.

"So that's why this place is so tall… This is amazing. Why every ten years? What's the occasion?"

"Ah, well. That's the surprise."He replied, a mischievous look in his eye.

Before you could say anything back, he tugged you off through the crowd. The two of you met new races and tried new foods, some leaving you feeling a bit strange, but the Doctor told you that was to be expected. He showed you so many different practices within different cultures within different races within different civilizations within so, so many different planets and galaxies. It was amazing and magical and, just a bit overwhelming. By the end of it you felt like your brain could explode from knowledge. And amidst all this, you still didn't know what the surprise was. You kept expecting it to happen and wondering if it had already happened. There was so much going on around you and in your head and you became completely lost in all of it.

You weren't sure how long it had been, but eventually everyone there sort of stopped as if they were all expecting something to happen. You eyed the Doctor curiously to see how he was reacting, and he wasn't doing much but smiling. You took a second to admire his joy before inquiring.

"Doctor, what's-"

Before you could finish he shushed you, which clearly wasn't effective seeing as he did it at an unnecessarily loud volume, which echoed through the place louder than your voice would have. You rolled your eyes and waited for something to happen.

The alien door guards returned and gestured with their hands for you all to follow. You and the Doctor followed along with the others in anticipation. There was a low hum of voices and other sounds coming from the massive group of people you were now walking with, and you kept looking to the Doctor trying to read him.

Along the way he pointed out and named some of the alien races while also discovering new ones. He happily chatted away with the people around you while you went along with it all, despite your anxiousness to find out what exactly was going to happen.

Eventually, you all reached another gigantic door and the guards pulled it open at an agonisingly slow pace revealing a large circular balcony overlooking something you couldn't quite make out yet. The Doctor continued to smile and took your hand leading you all the way out to the edge of the balcony.

It just looked… Dark, out there. You couldn't make out any shapes or colors, it was just black.

The Doctor squeezed your hand in excitement and took in a breath.

"Wait for it…"

From behind you, the door guards started vocalising. It was a strange and beautiful siren-like song that echoed through the darkness. The singing stopped and for _just_ a moment there was complete silence before a loud hum came from the distance. The hum got more intense and you could feel the place vibrating beneath your feet.

Your heart rate picked up and you waited.

In a flash, everything in front of you lit up. A blinding light pierced through the darkness and suddenly, the stars. You let out a small gasp.

The stars were falling.

All around you, those stars which inhabited the sky were coming down like a light flurry of snow. They were small, like fireflies and radiated a tiny warmth that was comforting. When they touched your skin it felt like pins and needles but… soft? It was something you'd never quite felt before, but that's what your senses made of it.

You looked around in amazement and caught one in your hands. It seemed to nestle there comfortably for a moment before whizzing away delightfully.

The stars lit up the Doctor's face beautifully, and you couldn't help but be entranced. Not by the planet or the stars or the alien life all around you, but at him. He was radiant and happy in this moment, and a childlike glee filled his eyes. You smiled and got his attention,

"Hey,"

He quickly turned his head to face you, and without thinking a single thought in that moment you leaned in, placing a soft kiss on his lips. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and removed his hand from yours. For a moment after your lips parted, he stood there before you, completely baffled. You panicked and frantically started apologising, stuttering and spewing I'm sorrys and retreating to a safer distance before he pulled you back in.

He crashed his lips into yours eagerly and the inertia knocked his top hat off, once again. He ignored it and remained there, parting and then returning to your lips like he never wanted to leave. When he finally did, you let your eyes meet his. The stars fell around you in slow motion and everything felt perfect, like it would never end.

He started to smile, and removed his hands from you, bringing one up to scratch the back of his head and cleared his throat.

"You, ah-" He laughed, "You beat me to it."

The two of you remained there, facing each other. You shared a laugh and he smoothly returned his attention to the stars, explaining the magic away. You listened and admired him from where you stood. You were surprisingly relaxed about what had just happened and you were living a hundred percent in the moment. He continued to explain.

"-so, as a result they come floating down, bringing warmth and light to all these people. It's an act of peace and- and forgiveness and sometimes, love."

You raised your hands up to his bow tie and straightened it, giving him a sweet smile.

"Thank you, Doctor. This is beautiful."

"Anytime."

He chuckled and pushed a floppy bit of hair out of his face - which was going a very subtle shade of red.

The two of you remained there, gazing at the falling stars. He told you stories and legends about them and you engaged him with questions and smiles. The night was full of laughter and flirting and all sorts of wonderful things.  
That is, until everything inevitably went wibbly and your lovely night was transformed into an action packed, dangerous adventure with lots and lots of running!

But that's a story for another time, eh?


End file.
